Federation Housing Opens Bucks Facility

June 12, 2013

Federation Housing, Inc. has opened its second apartment building for seniors outside the city of Philadelphia.

The first, the Samuel A. Green House, opened in Elkins Park in late 2011 with the help of a $3 million contribution from the Green Family Foundation and Firstrust Bank. Last week, Federation Housing opened the Florence E. Green House, an affordable housing site for 60 low-income seniors in Bucks County. That project received a $1 million contribution from the Green foundation and the bank, which was started by Samuel Green in the 1930s.

Federation Housing, a nonprofit organization, was created in 1970 with the help of a grant from what is now the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. In addition to the Green facilities, the agency operates nine other properties, mostly in the Northeast. All together, they house more than 1,500 people. All of the properties have a waiting list and the demand is expected to increase as baby boomers continue to reach retirement age.

Richard J. Green, CEO and vice chairman of Firstrust Bank, was at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the building named after his mother. The Elkins Park building is named after his grandfather.

“My mother had several passions in life — family, golf, cooking and helping assure comfortable and secure housing for those who were less fortunate,” he said.

The building is a three-story, new construction apartment building located on 4.17 acres at 4701 Somerton Road in Trevose. The residence includes 54 one-bedroom and six two-bedroom apartments.

Eric Naftulin, executive vice president of Federation Housing, said that no other projects are currently in the works.

But the agency, said Naftulin, “is always looking for new opportunities” to create housing “as our waiting lists remain extensive.”